Report: Trade talks for Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans intensify

Eight days away from the NBA trade deadline, and in the immediate aftermath of a massive Blake Griffin trade, it appears that the NBA rumor mill is finally moving.

And to the surprise of no one, the Celtics look the part of a team more than involved.

Still in search of a scoring replacement for Gordon Hayward, Danny Ainge appears to have his sights set on biggest fish on the market in the Grizzlies’ Tyreke Evans, according to ESPN.

A 6-foot-6 guard that’s averaged 19.5 points per game and shot at an impressive 45.8 percent clip this season — and on the heels of an 11-of-17 shooting night with 27 points and four assists in just 26 minutes of a Jan. 29 win over the Suns — intrigued has come with the Grizzlies’ decision to sit Evans as a scratch until a trade is facilitated.

It’s obviously the safe call to make to avoid injury and allow the Grizzlies to sell as high as possible, and could come with the idea that a trade is closer than it’s ever been.

But the Celtics are not alone in their pursuit of the 28-year-old, as ESPN has noted the Bucks, Sixers, Nuggets, and Pelicans as teams also interested in Evans.

So with no shortage of suitors, the Grizzlies have been searching for a first-round pick from those interested in acquiring Evans, according to NBC Boston. That’s something that the Celts, despite currently owning seven first-round picks in the next four years alone, are not yet willing to part with, per the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett.

Evans has value for the C’s as a pure rental, and with an affordable $3.29 million salary, which is something the Green can afford thanks to the disabled player exception the Celtics were granted by way of Hayward’s (believed to be) season-ending injury.

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